The ending of 24
by Arkanus
Summary: episode 24 got me thinking. ya know? Complete.
1. faye

**Episode 24. Disclaimer: Don't own**  
  
***Faye***  
  
How long has she been running?   
  
The fast steady beats of her steps, making long strides along the graveled ground beneath her shoes, marking their way to the path she once knew but never remembered seem to push her along. Keep running she told herself, keep going and you'll find your salvation.   
  
Could she therefore find it in herself that she was privy to something more than what she is now? That she was not just some girl who woke up one morning confused and ached for a memory?   
  
Did she somehow in the recesses of her mind become someone she would have despised in her former life? She kept going, making longer strides to keep up with the wind and the sun that glimpsed along the road. The glint of approaching sunset touches the edges of palm leaves and she tries in her heart to find that maybe, just maybe she isn't who she is now.   
  
A view up ahead shows her the way but it was only her memories really. A younger version of herself with the youthful expression of innocence marks her way forward. The faintness of it so clear in her head and the music echoes brightly in her ears, drumming the blood flow that scream faster and you'll see, Faye Valentine, it whispers in her veins, you'll see.  
  
Her breathing sounded so harsh now and there it was—the gateway to her past. The beautiful picture of a great mansion blossoms in her old memory and the tears that threaten behind her eyes still her in complete suspense. Small child like hands were placed on that grey wall that separated only to be replaced by long slender fingers. They touch the old rusty iron that felt like new metal and she had let out a silent breath that sounded in the stillness of the air.   
  
No.   
  
What was left was her past—like the buried old grave that she had passed along the way and the broken recollection that gave her nothing but clues and empty family lines. The wind whistles in a form of a banshee and the music plays like an orchestra and guitar strings that hang in the approaching twilight.  
  
One step at a time, she took them one step at a time and they measured themselves against her heartbeat. Not even tears could flow for her and the years that stretched before could not bring her back. She lay there on the gritty ground and the dust swirls were dancing in waltz around her and she left it up to the future to shape her way. Your past is the link to your future they say and the bloodlines that flow within your veins are important as life and death.   
  
Did the spirits of her ancestry remember her? Or was she forgotten in the last seconds of those hours before sundown? She knew better than to ask these questions over and over again but they would not leave her in peace. Faye stares above at the movement of clouds and the passing of time and lets out a big sigh. Everything around her had passed away and left her only fragments of dust and old pieces of things more than a hundred years old.   
  
*******  
  
An unspoken figure stands at the window—the smoke rising to create a cloud around his dark hair and the man stares out. The words etched out in a child's hand, innocent and playful, reminiscence of a willful and precarious spirit brought out a slight ache within the breast of his heart. He hadn't felt anything for anyone in a long time but the words in orange crayon like colors that stare back at him pulls invisible strings inside.  
  
Jet had called him to come and eat but Spike remains silent. The windmill left behind was a token of friendship and a final goodbye.   
  
*******  
  
bachus: "Just because I can do humour doesn't mean I can't get serious" heh.  
  
maybe i'll do more of this episode and continue from it. maybe. 


	2. goodbyes

********  
  
Ed had been walking away from bepop, taking great big strides, moving one foot forward like a long legged gazelle and the bareness of her feet touches the rough terrestrial ground. When she had decided to leave it was with some sort of painful pang and the sun setting behind the horizon dipped in crimson and orange black vibrant colors beckons her to move forward. She had found her father and this had pleased her immensely.   
  
Your family ties were important they told her and she was suddenly left open to the prospect of building a new life beyond the bepop circle of family she developed. The familiar barking behind her broke her advancing gait and she was left with a brief twinge of pain. The bond between Ein and herself were inseparable. Pausing to take a full look at Ein she explains that she is going away, somewhere far far away and it may not be something Ein would want. The sparkle of intelligence behind those eyes staring back at Ed told the young girl that he was willing to take those chances. Ein had paused, briefly, even so far as taking several steps back to return to bepop.   
  
Ed turns around, and her eyes were a glassy reflection against the backdrop of the darkening sky. Will she miss them she thinks to herself and if she were to leave them will they be alright without her? At least now she wouldn't be underfoot and giving them trouble. Will they miss her? The only belongings she owned were placed above her head, balancing there with two skinny arms and her silhouette with Ein sharply contrasted in the dying light. It's funny how the world just seems so fresh and alive to her just now.   
  
The decision was never to return and maybe one day she will see them again. Her future revolves now around her newfound hope with her father and she nods her head at Ein. The short four legged canine in turn whimpers in response. Ed smiles, the admission to come with her evident in her eyes and she says, "Let's go, Ein!" They made their way along the bumpy terrain, like two happy souls on a great adventure. The music in the disappearing sun thrums along like the calling of the wind, and the sounds of the guitar strings echoes silently in their course.   
  
A windmill sits atop bepop, turning as the wind blows along its sharp curves, and the melody of faint goodbyes whisper silently along the passageways. Inside, Spike and Jet get ready to eat and it was only with a forced movement that they moved away from the open expanse of the window. Who was going to clean up the smiley face later? Perhaps that can be left there, only to be wiped away by the harsh environment and open air. Upon their small rectangular table, there sits the token of appreciation; plates and bowls of hard boiled eggs stare back at them and it was the first time in a long time since they have gotten anything to eat worthwhile. Being bounty hunters demanded a constant supply of nutrients and their hunger became a constant friend, burying the urges beneath.   
  
Shoving an egg in his mouth, Spike forgets about the sudden departure of Ed and chews with great pleasure, and quickly swallows the contents in one big gulp. Jet had said earlier that humans needed their food or they would go insane. Not one to complain of the gifts for the exchange of Ed's going away, he joins Spike in an unspoken contest of gluttony. Did anyone notice Ein's disappearance? Both men ate and knew that Ein would not be far from Ed. It was better this way anyway, Jet thought, they only brought trouble and it was always a hassle to feed them when a bounty hunt could not go through.   
  
The older man was familiar with good byes and that had proved it long ago when the woman he had cared for left him without an explanation. Despite the devil may care that Spike portrayed, he was a man who was tied to his past and those who had associated himself with, however brief left an imprint in his memory. Those who have touched his heart brought out the sentimentality within him. It was easy to keep it inside because there was nothing to be had with showing such vanity and useless feelings. Ed's father was like a tank and had a head like a stone hedge. At least if anything the girl would never be bored nor lack the security of her father's strength. Maybe he'll take a walk later and see if Ed's still traipsing around. Maybe.   
  
********  
  
Faye watches the sky above and she lost count of how long it had been. Time was nothing to her right now and the long years she spent in cold sleep left her frozen in place. Just like now upon the cold ground she once grew up on. Overhead there passes the colors of bright flashing dark oranges and the changing of alizarin purple clouds above them made her wonder if there were a being superior enough to cause the brilliant transient of time. Or the canvas above her swirling as if some invisible hand were painting in quick strokes, displaying to her of all the empty years she never saw a sunset or a sunrise.   
  
She had traced the lines along the recognizable property with a stick to mark her bed that was once her family and how was she going to go on now? How was she to go forward now that her memory had jarred back into the recesses of her mind? If she hadn't been so curious perhaps she could have remained an anonymous being with a body frozen over a hundred years.   
  
It looks like a darkening splash of watercolors above her now or was it the threatening tears in her eyes? Taking a deep breath she let her mind flow out into the universe and took this moment to reflect on what was once her life. She had no where else to go now and going back to bepop did not even make her feel full and alive as she once felt before her curiosity egged her on. Wasn't it better to be ignorant of the truth and go on with a life not knowing her past so she can go on with her future? What was it they say about it being important that your family ties should not be ignored? Closing her eyes she let the tears fall and for the first time she misses the life she had forgotten.   
  
Her body felt numb when she at last got up from her place and did not notice the duskiness of the surroundings. The fountain with what remains of some water blinks back at her, mirrored there by the high shaped sickle of the moon. She moves forward and her destination taking her back to bepop, the only home she knows now with Jet, Spike, Ein and Ed. What a comical group they were with no ties to their past. Yet it was Ed who was able to find something, which links her to her past. Whereas she was the one who wanted to unearth her forgotten past. Funny how that had worked out.   
  
So she takes a step back to where she came, her dark slender figure now a shadow against the descending last light. Faye takes a quiet moment to turn around, just once more for old times sake, and in looking at the mansion in her hidden memory. How it once was, resplendid with thriving groves of palm trees and terracotta colored rooftops that housed those who loved her. The wide spiraling staircase that ran along the sides and the iron ornate gate that she remembers now burn brightly as if it never happened. The accident long ago. Placing her in cold sleep. It might as well been purgatory for her. The problem is, purgatory would have at least been more stimulation for her than the coma she slept in all those years. Even comas they say give the unconscious victim dreams for reminders. She swallows a lump in her throat and decides that she had made her peace and the links to her past closed in a box. There were no more ghosts to haunt her anymore.  
  
Faye walks away and vows never to come back.  
  
See you cowgirl,   
  
someday, somewhere!  
  
************* 


End file.
